@sam_anderson nailed it - free stuff like that is pure luck but it opens up a bigger door than people think. Once you get past the initial cost barrier, you start noticing all the other cheap or free ways to have fun that are hiding in plain sight (like fishing from a bank or hiking a trail you'd normally drive past). It's a whole mindset shift when you realize the best stuff doesn't have a price tag.
A free kayak just sitting there? That's wild. People usually sell those for a couple hundred bucks at least. You must have hit the neighbor jackpot. My local group would have had ten people fighting over it in minutes. That really does change everything for getting out on the water.